Wild night for Wall, Wizards

About two hours after he became a Wizard, John Wall was already wearing down. After shaking hands with NBA Commissioner David Stern and walking off the stage at The Theater at Madison Square Garden, Wall sat on the couch with Mark Jones, sat down with reporters in the back room, spoke with reporters back in Washington via teleconference, did interviews with radio and television stations, did his famous dance with WPGC radio personality and Wizards game DJ Big Tigger on Skype and took numerous promotional photographs.

It was a grueling stretch, which could've only been overcome through the adrenaline of going No. 1 in the draft. Wall didn't get much time to rest. He left Madison Square Garden to have dinner with his mother, Frances Pulley, sisters, Tonya Pulley and Cierra Wall, co-agents Brian Clifton and Dwon Clifton, agent Dan Fegan and good friend, Tyrone Williams.

He partied afterward, celebrating his NBA arrival with fellow first-round draft picks, at a local New York night club. But he was also supposed to do an interview with "Fox and Friends" at 8:30 a.m. on Friday, followed by a press conference at Verizon Center three hours later. No rest for the weary, but it will come soon enough.

"He needs to take a break for a few days," Wall's mother said.

If Wall thought he had a big day, imagine the Wizards war room, where President Ernie Grunfeld and the rest of his front office staff was busy maneuvering and making deals all day. The Wizards don't know how to do anything lightly. So, the most important draft in recent franchise history was about as intense as they come.

After taking Wall, the Wizards made two trades to get three players they felt were essential to the rebuilding process - veteran combo guard Kirk Hinrich, French big man Kevin Seraphin and Clemson forward Trevor Booker. Hinrich and Seraphin were acquired in a pre-draft deal with the Chicago Bulls in which the Wizards also received $3 million, according to a source with knowledge of the trade talks, and only had to sacrifice a future second-round pick.

The trade won't become official until the salary cap is set on July 8, so the Wizards cannot comment on the deal. President Ernie Grunfeld is extremely high on Hinrich, who has been credited for helping Derrick Rose transition from going first overall after his freshman year under John Calipari, to emerging as an all-star (although I think it has a lot to do with Rose being incredibly talented, but that's another matter).

Chicago has cleared up enough salary cap space to get two maximum-level free agents to pair with Rose, Joakim Noah, and possibly establish an Eastern Conference contender for years to come. If the Bulls are able to get LeBron James and either Joe Johnson or Chris Bosh, the Wizards will surely get panned for the extent of that run after facilitating that deal in the same conference.

It's a baffling move in many respects but the Wizards have grown accustomed to that sort of criticism, since they supposedly gave championships to Cleveland and Dallas after trading Antawn Jamison and Caron Butler and Brendan Haywood, respectively, at the trade deadline. You know how that turned out.

But much like the Memphis Grizzlies can't look back after dealing Pau Gasol to the Lakers, the Wizards aren't concerning themselves with what the trade could mean for Chicago. They got exactly what they wanted in Hinrich, the first defensive-minded guard the team has had since Larry Hughes in his final season in Washington. And, they also may have found something special in Seraphin, a project at 6-feet-9, 280-pounds, but someone who has tremendous upside.

Funny story about Seraphin. I actually met him outside of the hotel, while waiting for a cab a few hours before the draft. I was speaking to French reporter, Pascal Giberne, who introduced us. I had no idea that Seriphan would wind up being a Wizard. I just wished the kid luck and hopped into cab.

Seraphin, 20, has only played organized basketball for five seasons and the Wizards came to know him after seeing him play at the Nike Hoop Summit in Portland last season. The Wizards watched him play a few times for Cholet, which won the French championship this season. He is a rugged, physical player, as he explained after he was selected on Thursday. Seraphin needed the assistance of a translator, but tried to explain his playing style in his limited English. He eventually punched his fist into his hand to talk about his toughness.

During the interview with reporters, Seraphin was wearing a Bulls cap, but talking about how excited he was to be in Washington. And from what I hear, he really, really wanted to play for the Wizards. Tommy Sheppard and Milt Newton went to see Seraphin in Treviso, Italy, a few weeks ago and came away impressed. Seraphin came away thinking that the Wizards really wanted him.

Unable to work out because of a minor knee injury, he visited five teams in six days last week, including Washington, Oklahoma City and Cleveland (which I heard was looking to get the 20th pick in order to take him). But I heard that when he visited Washington, Seraphin told Grunfeld, "You have to take me! You have to take me." From witnesses in the room, Grunfeld apparently smiled and told him he might be able to work something out.

Seraphin will not participate in summer league as he recovers from his right knee injury suffered a few weeks ago. He might not come to Washington until he receives his work visa in about a month or two, according to Seraphin's agent, Bouna N'Diaye.

The Wizards swapped the 30th and 35th picks to get the 23rd and 56th picks, which became Booker and Rutgers center Hamady N'Diaye. Booker is the player the Wizards really wanted late in the draft, hoping that his energy and physicality can add another dimension to the Wizards.

"He's really fast getting up and down the floor," Grunfeld said of Booker. "He's very aggressive. He's a good rebounder, he's very physical, and one of the things we wanted to address is the physicality of our team and getting tougher, and I think we've added a couple of players that have shown they have some toughness and who will compete and are not afraid to put their bodies in the way."

So, the Wizards came away with five players in the draft, including a new franchise cornerstone. What do you guys think of the night?

I'm just not sure how I feel about giving up a future FIRST ROUND pick for the 17th and Hinrich. Especially in light of two factors: (1) Chicago were DESPERATE to make cap space; they had to purge salaries in a move to clear space for the FA showdown (2) Is it lottery protected? There are still so many questions about the future of this organization and to give up a future 1st rounder is somewhat risky. However, I do like the pick from France with the little knowledge that I do have of him. But it doesn't seem like "Leonsis" to give up a future 1st round draft pick if the plan is to build the team primarily through the draft.

I think mike is not right, it is a future non Garanted second round pick.
We asked Ted to build a new caracter for wiz.He started with defense.I loved it.I do not care what the other team get but KH is a pro,very good defender and a smart man with average offense and good ball handling.He will have a chance to be the future 2 gard for this team.The back court is going to be monitered by KH,we need a simillar veteran that can teach youngsters in the front court.GA will have a

Get rid of Grunfeld. His W-L record speaks for itself. His draft record speaks for itself. We had the #5 pick last year and traded it for Miller & Foye who won't even be back. He threw away a top 5 pick.

And if it is a first rounder instead of a second for Hinrich then that is just another gaffe IMO. This team need players not more projects. There were several guys at #17 who could have contributed this year and still had upside.

The Wiz were bad when Grunfeld arrived. He made them competitive but his best record was 45-37 and they now are just as bad if not worse than when he took over.

A shot-blocking center is always a good project player to take late in the second round. So the first pick, Wall, and the
Wizards' last pick are solid.

Seraphim seems to be a gamble, but at least the Wizards scouted him pretty well, from the sounds of it. I have to give them the benefit of the doubt on him.

Booker is a high energy, hustle guy, and obviously wowed the Wizards in his workout. So I agree with those who are saying that they probably overpaid to get Booker. I mean, hustle, physical play, and rebounding in a 6-7 pf are not uncommon.

Interestingly, Stanley Robinson dropped all the way to 59. That was a great pickup by the Magic at that point in the draft. In hindsight, it wasn't smart for Stanley Robinson to work out for teams with Booker.

It is also interesting that the Celtics had a pretty good draft, considering they were in the finals. They picked up a guard at 18, and picked up Luke Harangody in the second round.

Too bad we couldn't package Albert Hanesworth in one of those deals, heck, we did enough wheeling and dealing to sneak lard a** in one of those deals! (wishful thinking!)
Nice picks but we still need veteran leadership as we have none! Hope Gil is ready to prove to ALL that he has matured and is ready for real. Finally see potential toughness at the 4 & 5 positions. I'm not ready so say I'm all in yet but it's a start. Do we have to buy Kevin's contract? Is he available to play now or is this an EG project? Gotta get a veteran free agent with a low post presence. Please let Mike Mistake leave via free agency, never liked the trade for well traveled Mike and now you see why!Overall, I give EG an "A" but I still would have liked to have seen Orton or Alibi taken when we had a chance to get one of them.

Booker better be some player for them to give up two picks that were not very far below where he was selected.
Seraphim..may become a good player in the future..but can this team spend the 17th pick on a maybe? It already takes 3-4 years to see how a draft worked out..but because the French kid is still a raw talent..it may take 5-6 years. Seraphim will not take up a slot on the team for a year or two. A lot will depend on what veterans the "Wiz" can sign to complete the team.McGee better have a breakout year!
Haywood is a free agent....would not be a bad acquisition..re-acquisition.

After taking Wall, the Wizards made two trades to get three players they felt were essential to the rebuilding process - veteran combo guard Kirk Hinrich, French big man Kevin Seriphan and Clemson forward Trevor Booker...

Wall great but even kal could have made that pick and he knows nothing about BB.

Hinrich is going to be the 2010 MM?

Trevor Booker is listed at 6'7" and in college guys like that can play PF and or C but without the girth like Big Baby and Blair they can't push taller guys out of their way.

Ernie was smart to draft Seriphan but hopefully Ted is smarter and he isn't going to buy the BS Ernie sells the fans and by saying we have to wait 3 years to see how this draft works out.

Last year I said the day after the draft that it was going to be a disater and mark my words they only got one NBA player today and that was Wall.

Why do the fans have to sit through another 26 win season just so Ernie can keep his job?

#5 - There is one slot for OBERTO or SINGLETON, but I would prefer a frontline FA like DAVID LEE instead.
#4 - No room for either OBERTO or SINGLETON in a perfect world.
#3 - Replace HOWARD. MARTIN is not the answer either.
#2 - MILLER is definitely out. I don't want to see FOYE or ROSS on the court in a WIZ uni ever again.
#1 - I personally would like the WIZARDS to entice LIVINGSTON to come back. JACKSON, BOYKINS, CRITTENTON are all out of course.

The doubts regarding the draft night moves are staggering. Beyond WALL we needed a #3 and a #5 in my opinion.

#5 - The #5 we got will have to be the second coming of MOSES MALONE. I don't see it. We still need a #5, and we go nowhere as a franchise until we get a frontline player in that position.
#4 - OBERTO, BLATCHE and SINGLETON could have sufficed for the #4 slot for a year or two. Instead we draft two more, one undersized for the slot.
#3 - We don't address the problem of HOWARD's knees or contract. Now we must be at the mercy of FA #3's for at least one more #3 besides HOWARD. MARTIN can't be THORNTON's relief.
#2 - is settled IMO.
#1 - can be solved if LIVINGSTON comes onboard, although I doubt it. With WALL in place, I think SHAUN will feel his future lies elsewhere. That would require another back-up for WALL although ARENAS is available (shudder).

The Wiz traded a sure 20-10 veteran leader for a # 1 draft pick then later packaged that # 1 pick with a very high 2nd round pick to take a guy that almost every mock draft had projected as the 44th – 46th best player available in the draft. Talk about a reach!

Only the Wizards could give up the 30th and 35th pick in the draft to get the 45th best prospect.

I’ve defended Ernie in the past but Good Lord did they screw the pooch on this trade.

Don't understand why the Wiz would have given up the #30 and #35 for a guy who was rated a 2nd round pick. There were definitely better players available at No. 23 if they wanted to trade up. I've seen Booker play and he's an undersized PF in the mold of Craig Smith. He never dominated in ACC play so why do the Wiz expect him to be a rotation playere here? It seemed like a big reach at No. 23.

The kid picked at No. 17 is another headscrather. The pick reminds me a lot of the Pecherov selection when the Wiz knew he was going to play another year in Europe. There were a number of players available at that spot who could have come in and made a contribution next year. It appears that EG thinks Seraphin will be making a contribution next year, but that wasn't the comments from the ESPN analyst who had seen him play.

Seems like Ernie is hell bent on proving something. It is like he has a special eye for talent that no one else sees. Why wait till the 56 pick to draft an obvious 7'ft center that you needed to draft with the 17th pick.

I cannot believe we moved up to draft this French kid. We could have gotten him at 56. I would have been satisfied drafting Orten from Kentucky at 17.

What is Booker going to do. 6'7" guys cannot play like Unseld used too, not even Charles Barkely in today's game. That is a relic' throwback pick that ain't gonna work IMO.

I can't believe the junk that most of you guys are spewing. From what I read leading up to the draft, Seraphin was definetly going in the first round - probably to OKC with one of their many picks. Also, the Cavs were desperately trying to get into the first round to get him. There is no way he would have been around at 56th pick.

Plus, I love Booker, despite his height. He really improved his game to add a face up jumper. There is no reason why he can't develop into a Brandon Bass/Jason Maxiel type of player. What they've sorely lack the last couple of years is grit and competitiveness. I hope, and I think that EG took some positive steps in that direction with the draft and the acquisition of Hinrich.

Folks will like Booker. He can play. Small sure, but athletic and hungry... Can't say too many guys were hungry on this team last year.

Seraphin - no clue about this guy.. he's pretty big and he doesn't speak English.. bout it. Time will tell.

Ndiaye - prob a d leaguer. But at pick 56 you can take a flyer on someone.

Hinrich - ppl sleep on this guy. He can play. can shoot, defend, he doesn't play like a punk. not spectacular but solid

Plus there is still a bit of free agency, maybe get a B level guy like Lee which someone mentioned.

The key is Wall. we got lucky. All the good to great teams got lucky at one point or another to become great. whether by getting a high draft choice, making a lopsided trade, having the team in front of you choose Greg Oden, etc... This is a first step towards rebuilding. not the finished product.

Fans always just want to fire and trade ppl like thats the answer. I think EG is a bit better GM than the armchair quarterbacks and Nba2k franchise vets out there. plenty of time to fire him later if he can't get something together. I give the draft a B+ b/c after all is said and done - we got at least 1 STUD.

A great night for Wizards.
Wall will not dissapoint and will be the superstar and glue for this team. Seriphan will shock and will be all star PF in the fold of Malone. The trade for Booker and the center will go down as one of the best trades in Wizars history.
Well done.

>>Booker is the player the Wizards really wanted late in the draft, hoping that his energy and physicality can add another dimension to the Wizards.
_____
Physicality????? English teachers are spinning in their graves.

the booker trade is something of a mystery. I just reviewed several mock drafts. booker was projected to be available at 30 in all of them. but how reliable are mock drafts? probably not very. ernie probably knew better. on the other hand, there's typically not much value at 30 and 35. so why not get somebody you know can contribute something right away, albeit maybe not a lot, instead of hoping for a miracle 30 or 35? could prove smart.

seraphin could prove genius. smart pick. might not work, but definitely has a chance. the most importance prerequiste for success in the nba is athleticism, and he seems to have that, plus real determination (the piece that mcgee seems to lack completely).

barring injury, say goodbye and good riddance to Young with the arrival of Henrich. get him and comfy pillow for his permanent seat on the bench. maybe he can find some fans to giggle with during the games.

hard to criticize the wall pick. unfortunately for the wizards, there was no outstanding big guy available. a 6-4 point guard isn't going to turn a franchise around by himself, but he's a safe bet to be a big conributor for years.

the wizards are clearly trying to build a fast, athletic team that doesn't get pushed around. they should be fun to watch.

could turn out to be good draft. It's a crap shoot really. but at least the moves make sense.

Now they have to find a decent center. David Lee might be a good fit for the right price. He's undersized, but he's young and mobile. he can also play on the offensive side. i'd like for once to watch a wizard center who can catch the ball, pass the ball, and even shoot. i think jeff ruland was the last one.

What is next?
Forget abou Livingston and his injured knee. Get rid of the Areanas (NY for Curry, or whomever) and u have a real base for creating a championship caliber team three years down the road. Wall (point), Seripha/Booker(PF), Blatch(SF), McGEE/N'diaye (Center). If he can get rid of Arenas, Ernie just saved his job and earned his keep.

Where do you think Booker would have gone if the Wiz had passed on him? How many slots would he drop?

Booker seems like a high energy, productive guy, maybe a smaller Charles Barkley (not smaller in height, just overall massiveness). He could help some. Clemson won a lot with him, beating more highly regarded teams. I'm just surprised he went so high.

I don't know the French guy of course, a 6 ppg guy over there. Maybe he will develop, who knows? He was mentioned some in the mock drafts as a possible raw talent.

Several sites have said Serafin will probably spend 2 more yrs overseas before coming to nba. Come on! That has got to be wrong.

Kid is a hulking brute who is completely undeveloped....no reason he shouldnt be developed here rather than overseas. I'll give EG the benefit of the doubt and assume we will see this kid far sooner than 2yrs from now. Hell, get him in camp this season!

There is no way Seraphin would have made it past the 25th pick. Every mock draft I looked at had him being picked no lower than that and prior to injuring his knee he was rated even higher. And I vehemently disagree with you that Sir Charles Barkley couldn't play in today's NBA. ;-)

BTW, those of you saying that Seraphin is too small to play minutes at the five, take a look at Kendrick Perkins. He's 6-10 in shoes (as is Seraphin) and weighs about 280 (as does Seraphin). It's sort of ridiculous to pan a kid who you've never seen play.

"A shot-blocking center is always a good project player to take late in the second round.posted by PostSubscriber"

So they tell us. I didn't know much about the guy. 23 years old, looks like he's around 6'11", 235, excellent 7'6" wingspan and 9'3" standing reach. A shotblocker, very aggressive and active, probably somebody who on an ordinary club would be pretty far down the bench. Has a hook shot. Out of position to rebound due to shotblock attempts. No idea if he'll see the court.

There's plenty of youtube footage of him physically dominating a bunch of stiffs in France Pro-A......all the more reason to get him here sooner than later. 2 more years getting by on physical superiority alone isnt the fast track to development imo

Several sites have said Serafin will probably spend 2 more yrs overseas before coming to nba. Come on! That has got to be wrong.

Kid is a hulking brute who is completely undeveloped....no reason he shouldnt be developed here rather than overseas. I'll give EG the benefit of the doubt and assume we will see this kid far sooner than 2yrs from now. Hell, get him in camp this season!

Posted by: div

Glad to see someone talked you off a ledge regarding Seraphin. And, as I suggested last night, the Wizards have in fact seen him play and did not pick him on physical attributes alone. Further, since his buyout is so cheap (easy for me to say), he can absolutely come over this year if it's in his/Wiz's best interests. Again, I have not seen him or his agent quoted as saying Seraphin will not be playing in the NBA this season.

Analysis: The Wizards are counting on Wall to save the franchise, and he has the talent to do it. Wall is a special athlete who plays under control even at full speed, a fearless player in clutch situations and a good floor leader. He needs to improve his jump shot and cut down on his turnovers, but he was made for the NBA.

Seraphin, a big, physical forward who is still learning to play offense, will come to the Wizards as part of the Hinrich trade. Booker is another tough guy who likes to bang in the paint.

Overall the Wizards added speed and toughness to a roster full of young players (and Gilbert Arenas). Washington won't be great next year, but given time, Wall has the talent to lead the team to a championship.

2 things. 1st...not all that thrilled with the Hinrich deal but that has more to do with our salary cap than what we gave up for him. I know folks on here has been saying we gave up too much. We gave up a future 2nd round pick for 2 guys AND 3 mil!!! Sounds like a good deal to me.

2nd. This is a bit of a reach but...from what i've seen from the French ballers is that they come to play. Parker. Pietrus. Batum. Roddy B. Ibaka. They all can ball and ball right away. Hopefully Big Kev can follow in their footsteps

"booker was projected to be available at 30 in all of them. but how reliable are mock drafts? probably not very."

You're right. There's a reason the sites erase their mocks as soon as the picks are made, in hope everyone will forget their mistakes.

Most of those same mocks had Booker and Gani Lawal going at the top of the 2nd. Lawal wound up going 46th. One blog said that Booker's rise had to do with his combine numbers -- teams got to see how fast he was getting up and down the court. A team that wants to run might covet that. Lawal is more of a half-court rebounder.

And let me make this perfectly clear...LEBRON WILL NEVER WIN A TITLE AS LONG AS KOBE IS PLAYING!!!! Mark my words! So what if LEbron goes to Chicago. He's gonna have another opt out in 3 years and he'll do all this "where should I go" crap in the summer of 2013. He's the league's biggest drama queen ever. He produces on the court but he cannot win a title. Adding Bosh or Joe JOhnson isn't gonna help either. Johnson is the next Larry Hughes and Bosh fades away in late game situations just as easy as Queen James does.

Remember the draft is a "crapshoot".
Remember Kwame.
When you are picking after the middle of the first round the talent pool starts to dry up and picks are riskier.
Look at past drafts.
Evaluating the draft is about as accurate as predicting who goes where.

I believe you're correct. He's just too big a talent. The hope is he'll be another Nene -- develop over a couple of seasons into a playoff-caliber big man. The Kendrick Perkins comparison isn't bad. But I suspect Seraphin will play some at PF.

In regards to Seraphin, he's got great measurements. So how is it that he only managed to average 4 rebounds and 1 block shot in 15 minutes?

There's no great skill involved in being a shot blocker. That's a timing thing you're born with. Weren't we told Pecherov was a big physical rebounder/post player with three point shooting range?

Further, Grunfeld's European scouting history has left much to be desired.
This 17th pick feels like a mindless "Follow the trend" move. If Beaubois and Batum were great "French Finds", then Seraphin must be as well.

So...when do we find out if he can actually play? The Fall or 2 years from now? Or will he fall down the same rabbit hole as Veremeenko?

"I wasn't high on GV, the Terp, but I think he might be just a better prospect than all of our picks besides Wall."

I like Greivis but I don't think he's that much of a prospect. I was a little surprised he made it into the first, but can understand a club thinking he could be an energy offense guy off the bench. Besides, Grunfeld insists he was going after toughness, and Greivis is not a physical player.

"In regards to Seraphin, he's got great measurements. So how is it that he only managed to average 4 rebounds and 1 block shot in 15 minutes?"

If he'd averaged 30 minutes, that would have been around 8 rebounds and 2 blocks. Plus note that 4 of those boards would have been offensive -- for a 20 year old in a pro league against older players, that's impressive.

His weaknesses: FT shooting, fouls, and turnovers.

Also note that in the Eurocup, averaging 20 minutes, his boards rose to 6.5 and his blocks to 1.2. Suggests his numbers rise steadily with his minutes.

Wall clearly was the consensus pick (though nothing is guaranteed. Kwame was also the consensus pick) but after that it's all guessing. The so-called draft experts have little to say that is complementary of the Wizards draft other than Wall. Leonsis is simply trying to save money. Unless something very unexpected happens, we'll have the lowest payroll in the league though not the lowest ticket prices.

Further, Grunfeld's European scouting history has left much to be desired.
This 17th pick feels like a mindless "Follow the trend" move. If Beaubois and Batum were great "French Finds", then Seraphin must be as well.

Posted by: bozomoeman

I suppose that could be true if you haven't gone to see him play in person and interviewed him to find out about his BB IQ and his work habits, love of the game, etc. From the outside looking in, it appears that the Wizards have done their homework.

"Seriphan needed the assistance of a translator, but tried to explain his playing style in his limited English. He eventually punched his fist into his hand to talk about his toughness.

During the interview with reporters, Seriphan was wearing a Bulls cap, but talking about how excited he was to be in Washington. And from what I hear, he really, really wanted to play for the Wizards."

And on another note, Is the Frenchman a center or a PF? For if he isn't a true center, then why did we draft him?

LarryInClintonMD.

Posted by: LarryInClintonMD |

Are the Wizards now restricted to drafting centers? Whether he's a PF or center is a moot point to me. We need help/depth at both positions.

On Barkley and physicality, it cuts both ways. Barkley absorbed a lot of punishment as well as dished it out. In today's era, if he can't touch them, they can touch him. Barkley was an explosive leaper and had impeccable timing for rebounds. That translates to any era. Last time I looked, Shaq O'Neal was still throwing his weight around and not getting whistled and he's not even a superstar anymore.

Great night for the Wiz just on the Wall selection alone. All these mock brackets are junk outside the top 10. In fact several NBA analsyts have maintained that there isn't a whole lot of difference between the guys slotted 10-30. We will know in a a couple of years if they were the right moves, but we didn't give up anything but a two 2nd rounders and the last pick of of the 1st round. This isn't the NFL people, those picks are all sometimes hit but almost always miss. Give it some time.

I think it's odd that a lot of people were feeling sorry for Antawn Jamison last year and were HAPPY that he was traded to CLE. Yet Lebron was lobbying for Hickson to get playing time and now CLE was supposedly trying to get Seraphin (I assume to be a PF).

I like AJ, but he's a tweener that indeed benefited from being here as a scoring stretch 4.

As for Hinrich being the first defensive minded guard since Hughes. What? Daniels? Stevenson?

I don't like the Booker pick. I would have taken James Anderson as a two.

The Booker pick didn't make a lot of sense. Here's a guy who is an undersized PF at 6 7" and was never a dominant player in college. The closest comparison I see is Craig Smith who came out of BC a few years ago and has had an undistinguished career. If the Wiz were trying to get bigger and tougher, Gani Lawal was available at that slot and had more upside. Booker is a finished product and looks to be a 10th or 11th guy off the bench.

I'll hold judgment on Seriphan since he has an NBA body and could be a surprise. The part I don't get is absorbing TWO years of Hinrich's contract at $17M. He is a PG who can shoot 3's but is undersized to play the 2. At least he tries to play defense but is generally a liability.

I especially like Seriphan, I like he will come in like Serge Ibaka did for OKC last year. Provide energy, rebounding and defense off the bench and will only improve on the other aspects of his game. Booker will be a solid bench player. Fans need to understand, that not everyone you draft is meant to be a star, every great team has solid role players and I think the Wiz got one in Booker & Seriphan. I like the Hinrich pick-up. And Wall will be special...no doubt about it.

Another note on Gilbert playing with Wall. Those of you and most of the Washington Media, Kornheiser leading the way need to pay a bit more attention to free agency and how teams position themselves to win championships.

Ask yourselves this, why is that it takes two or three top NBA players on a team to win/compete for a Championship?

Why are teams like Chicago and Miami positioning themselves to have two or more top NBA players on their roster?

Why did Boston add both Garnett and Allen with Pierce?

Why is it that after 8 years that Michael Jordan finally won a championship?

Those of you that want to ban Gilbert so quickly because Wall is in the House need to really look at how NBA champions get it done.

If you get rid of Gilbert too quickly without a 2nd top notch player coming in, John Wall will never win a Championship by himself.

"Seems like Ernie is hell bent on proving something. It is like he has a special eye for talent that no one else sees. Why wait till the 56 pick to draft an obvious 7'ft center that you needed to draft with the 17th pick.

Posted by: LarryInClintonMD | June 25, 2010 9:02 AM

Or, conversely, why draft the 7 ft. center that you need at 17 when he's still available at 56?

"Booker is a finished product and looks to be a 10th or 11th guy off the bench."

I think the "finished product" part is a huge reason why they drafted him. I don't think it's at all a coincidence that both of the college players they drafted were (A) guys with reps for toughness and (B) seniors. Leonsis didn't just get off the boat; he knows that the Wiz locker room has been knucklehead central for a while. I think drafting two guys with 4 years of college experience and maybe something to prove his his way of injecting a little maturity into the mix while still sticking to the youth rebuilding movement.

I've read on here that it was silly to trade up to 23 for a player that would be available at 30 (I agree). But, I've read other places that this is actually how it went down:

Ernie wanted either Booker or Quincy P at 30 or 35, those are the two guys he really coveted. But, WHEN the T-Wolves took Booker at 23, Ernie was worried he wouldn't get either, so he THEN made the trade for Booker to insure he'd get at least one of them.

If this is true (that's what we should find out), then all this sabre-rattling about "Booker would've been there at #30" is totally and utterly untrue. If it's true that the T-Wolves selected him BEFORE Ernie traded for him, then it was certainly an OK move, I believe.

This is from the Examiner:

But when Booker went at No. 23 and it was clear Pondexter wasn't going to last until 30, Wizards president Ernie Grunfeld and co. pulled the trigger on a trade to make sure they at least got one of them instead of losing both.

It's the highlights of the Nike Hoop Summit (US v. World) where both Wall and Seraphin played. They both look really good, but at the 2:35 mark you have a play where Seraphin dunks, then runs the floor to block Wall, followed by a play in which Wall has a nice drive in Seraphin's face.

I must admit, I hadn't heard of Seraphin before, but the video I'm seeing looks good. We don't need him to be a world-beater, just to develop nicely and be a part of our front-court rotation with Blatche and McGee.

Not that it necessarily means anything, but Ian Thompson at SI.com liked what the Wizards did.

Posted by: rufus_t_firefly | June 25, 2010 10:42 AM

A quote from Thomsen:

"Now they have a chance to launch a new start around Hinrich and rookie Trevor Booker, taken with pick No. 23 that was acquired from the Timberwolves in exchange for Nos. 30 and 35. Booker is an aggressive 6-7 senior defender from Clemson who will not only mix things up inside but also challenge the alarmingly recalcitrant Andray Blatche at practice each day.

If that turns out to be true, then Booker will be worth every penny he gets paid.

I see people are all over the place on Booker. He's undersized, he's not big enough, he's a reach, yada, yada, yada.

When you draft at 23 you're looking for contributors. If you get an eventual starter, you're ecstatic. For what it's worth, there was another guy who was an "undersized" PF at about 6'8", who helped his team win an NBA championship when he was paired with a dominant guard and an aging big man. His name: Udonis Haslem.

Give Flip and Ernie a chance to coach him up and let him shine. Just because mocks had him going at the bottom of the first or top of the second doesn't mean he would have actually fallen to those spots.

Hard not to like what the Wizards did in this draft (and in the moments leading up to it).

We added: a humble, mature, hard-working All-NBA-potential rookie PG; a proven, gritty, defensive-minded veteran leader who can shoot from distance at the PG/SG; a rugged, athletic, defensive-minded 6-10, 280 lb. C/PF; a rugged, tireless, athletic PF in Trevor Booker; and a rugged, workmanlike 7' defensive shot-blocker with athleticism to defend on the perimeter.

The common themes among all of the above: Work. Toughness. Maturity.

Looks like EG is building toward a new era indeed. Gone will be the days of foolishness and a lack of discipline. This will be a team worth being proud of. AB better have turned the corner for good, and Young + McGee better fall in line as well.

My concern is that we still don't have a marksman on the wing who can light it up from the outside, with the exception of Arenas. Miller is too streaky. We now have a good blend of quickness at guard and power underneath, but still no consistent outside scoring threat who can spot up from anywhere.

So EG shows his love for tweeners again! So in addition to Wall (whom my 2-year-old would have picked), he picks up an undersized 6'3 SG in Hinrich, an undersized 6'7 PF in Booker and a 6'9 C in Seraphin.
But even more appalling and what people are really missing is that he also absorbed $17 millions in salary on a marginal player from the Bulls (thus setting them up to become a dynasty if they sign their 2 coveted free agents). Needless to say that in a similar deal, OKC only abosrbed an expiring contract only worth $2 millions to acquire the 18th pick!
Agreeing and approving of these moves make some of you (like Kalo) not only basketball incompetent but borderline delusional and insane!
But it's ok, a few months from now, you will be talking about hindsight!

Booker will have to retool his whole game to the NBA, because despite what many people think, old style physical play is a thing of the past.
Posted by: LarryInClintonMD

There are plenty of guys in "The Lig" surviving on playing a physical brand of bball. Even discounting the muggings that went on during the playoff and in particular The Finals.

Guys from Dwight Howard down the line to the Perkins, Chuck Hayes, Brandon Bass type guys. I doubt Booker will ever be a starter, but he can definitely fill a role as an physical, energy guy off the bench.

My only problem with it is that I feel like we already have that guy in Singelton if we resign him. If they were determined to move up to that slot, I would have preferred they take one of the talented swingmen who were available then.

"Agreeing and approving of these moves make some of you (like Kalo) not only basketball incompetent but borderline delusional and insane!"

Thinking that absorbing a short 2 year, $17 million contract should be a breaking point from acquiring a mid-first round pick in a deep draft for a REBUILDING team unwilling and unable to snag a top tier free agent not only makes you basketball incompetent, but borderline delusional and insane.

Nevermind the fact that the player attached to the contract is, has been, and will be a valuable contributor to the franchise.

Booker is a mature player, but I don't think he is a finished product. Every year at Clemson he improved his game. He's added a little bit of a face-up game. I expect that he will continue to improve. However, his athleticism, tenacity, and hussle, which can't be developed, are already there and will be a good asset on this squad.

"But even more appalling and what people are really missing is that he also absorbed $17 millions in salary on a marginal player from the Bulls"

That's really where this draft will be judged in the short term. The Bulls have been trying to move Hinrich for 2yrs now, despite him being a fan favorite and supposed savvy pro. He needs to play very well for us rather than look like a guy who is inexplicably diminishing.

So what jumps out to me from that list (with the possible exception of Odom) is that all of the other stars on that list were willing and mostly very capable defenders. Certainly the same with Boston. It's not just that you need 2 or 3 stars. You need the right three stars to buy into the team concept on both ends of the floor. Something which Gilbert has yet to display. He still has time to display it, but you can understand people's concern or cynicism with regards to whatever promises Gil makes.

So it's not a question of thinking Wall can do it by himself, it's more of a question of is Gil the right kind of star to help get him there? At best, the jury is still out.

My only problem with it is that I feel like we already have that guy in Singelton if we resign him. If they were determined to move up to that slot, I would have preferred they take one of the talented swingmen who were available then.

Posted by: ts35 | June 25, 2010 11:41 AM |

What happened to accentuating the positive??? ;)

Seriously though, your point is a very valid criticism and is probably why fanhouse said:

Washington Wizards: The Wizards take John Wall, and it should be a merry night in the District. But then GM Ernie Grunfeld goes and trades for Kirk Hinrich (owed $17 million over two years) so he can draft French power forward Kevin Seraphin, a nice prospect but not worth all that Hinrich salary. Armed with the No. 30 and No. 35 picks, Washington trades up to get promising Clemson power forward Trevor Booker, who should have been available at 30 if not 35. Wall will change the franchise, and maybe the league. But a decent population of Wizards fans won't be able to enjoy that fully because their front office is still making weird, hard-to-explain decisions. Alanis Morrissette almost had it right. This ain't irony, but it is like rain on your wedding day. The bizarre moves can't ruin this draft because of Wall, but you'd still prefer Grunfeld didn't rain his crazy all over the place.

I have watched every possible Seriphan clip and I am now really happy with this pick. He doesn't look so raw to me, and he has amazing size and power.

Not sure about the Booker pick and what position he is going to play. I think playing like James Singleton might be his ceiling but there was nobody better with the later picks so its not that big a deal. Wish we would have taken Vasquez but Bookers alright.

I don't get the Hinrich move. I am glad we have a defensive guard, but his contract is ridiculous for how much he will produce. We could have had Foye back for less than half his price, and they aren't that different really (Hinrich is better on D, Foye better on O).

I don't get the Hinrich move. I am glad we have a defensive guard, but his contract is ridiculous for how much he will produce. We could have had Foye back for less than half his price, and they aren't that different really (Hinrich is better on D, Foye better on O).

Posted by: bosshog7169 | June 25, 2010 11:59 AM

Let me help you.
Resigning Foye would not have brought us the 17th pick. Chicago had their price for the pick and the Wiz paid it.

I think some of you are deluding yourselves regarding the Hinrich deal (meaning how distasteful his salary is).

Who did you think was coming here (aside from the fact that Leonsis already essentially put out in words that he won't be signing a max FA this year)? Wade? Lebron? Bosh? Amare? Dirk?

Would you have rather overpaid for Joe Johnson? Carlos Boozer? Given a max to David Lee?

Cap space for cap-space's sake is worth nothing to a franchise on the court. It's a SHORT contract for a useful player that will run up by the time Wall & co. are mature enough to actually become contenders.

I honestly don't know what fans are thinking sometimes, other than hearing "cap space" and automatically assuming that it's the greatest thing in the world for any team to have, as if the free agent market operated in a vacuum.

Thinking that absorbing a short 2 year, $17 million contract should be a breaking point from acquiring a mid-first round pick in a deep draft for a REBUILDING team unwilling and unable to snag a top tier free agent not only makes you basketball incompetent, but borderline delusional and insane.

Nevermind the fact that the player attached to the contract is, has been, and will be a valuable contributor to the franchise.

Posted by: psps23 | June 25, 2010 11:43 AM | Report abuse

Pay attention! OKC got virtually the same deal for an expiring contract only worth $2 millions!

Washington Wizards: The Wizards take John Wall, and it should be a merry night in the District. But then GM Ernie Grunfeld goes and trades for Kirk Hinrich (owed $17 million over two years) so he can draft French power forward Kevin Seraphin, a nice prospect but not worth all that Hinrich salary. Armed with the No. 30 and No. 35 picks, Washington trades up to get promising Clemson power forward Trevor Booker, who should have been available at 30 if not 35.

By the way, I don't think picking up Hinrich was a 'take on bad salary' move to move up in the draft. If that's all they wanted to do, they would have done the Beasley deal with Miami. Less salary, less years, one slot lower in the draft.

I think they made the Hinrich move because they wanted Hinrich along with the pick. We'll see if it works out. It may be Foye 2.0, or he may come as advertised.

My complaint is not so much specifically in drafting Booker, but rather moving up to 23 to do it. I don't agree that he would necessarily have been there at 30 (and especially if you believe the Examiner article), but I think they could have stayed at 30 and 35 and drafted someone else and Lawal, who comes across as pretty much the same kind of player as Booker.

Was most surprised to see how far Alabi fell after a lot of the talk about him going as high as Boston's pick at 20.

Pay attention! OKC got virtually the same deal for an expiring contract only worth $2 millions!

Posted by: Utilityman1 | June 25, 2010 12:12 PM

Yeah, but the talk is EG was actually targeting Hinrich. You could almost say the 17th pick was the afterthought to acquiring Kirk to solidify the backcourt and assist in Wall's development. So grade EG on what CaptK contributes over the next 2yrs and dont worry about his $17mill as he's the player we wanted not just the cost of obtaining the Frenchman

Get rid of EG. The only good player's he draft are those who are highly rated player's that is no brainer pick's. he don't know how to evaluate talent out side of that. Rod Thorn that portland fierd is great at finding talent outside of hyped player's. Rod Thorn baught back a winning team to portland of all places and if that team was healthy in the playoff's may have knocked off the lakers. they have the best winning percentage against the lakers of any team. Phil J jackson even said when he see portland on the schedule he circle a lost around that game.

Yeah, but the talk is EG was actually targeting Hinrich. You could almost say the 17th pick was the afterthought to acquiring Kirk to solidify the backcourt and assist in Wall's development. So grade EG on what CaptK contributes over the next 2yrs and dont worry about his $17mill as he's the player we wanted not just the cost of obtaining the Frenchman

Posted by: divi3 | June 25, 2010 12:23 PM | Report abuse

I hope he "did" want him if he is going to spend $17 millions on him! The issue here is why is this incompetent man always infatuated with undersized tweeners that can play several positions marginally but can't play 1 position really good?

Yeah, given Ernie's stellar history of finding and developing players overseas- how could I have doubted him.

The first thing I saw about Serafin was that he wouldnt be here for at least a full year if not longer, if that turns out to be the case, consider me on the ledge.

Posted by: divi3

If it were just EG's assessment, I'd probably agree, but before his knee injury he was usually found on the ratings boards about where they took him. Plus, you did go on a bit last night like they have never scouted the kid or talked to him.

No question he's a bit of a gamble given his lack of basketball experience. At the very least though I think he turns into a decent rebounding / defending PF/C type. It seems like he wants to play, which is a plus.

He at least apparently has a reasonable buyout. I don't know if he comes over this year or next, but I very much doubt it will be two years. If he's not going to be healthy by training camp, my guess is he comes next year.

I'm ok with the Ndiaye pick too. Although it did strike me at the time as a "Yes, I passed on a great player from the Big East last year, so how about the Big East Defensive Player of the Year?" wishful thinking pick.

Here's my perspective on a few key points of discussion in this comment section:

1. I don't believe that the Wizards moved up to select Trevor Booker. It appears that Trevor Booker, among other players, was high on the Wizards draft board and Minnesota picked him before they had the opportunity. Other players that were high on their draft board also were claimed or were likely to be gone before the 30th or 35th pick. Instead of missing out entirely, the Wizards braintrust decided to make a deal with one of the teams who selected a player they were high on. Minnesota was a willing trade partner and accepted the deal. I believe that is how the transaction unfolded.

2. Seraphin was another player the Wizards targeted and it became apparent that he would not fall to them at their later draft selection position. They made a deal that not only got them a higher draft spot in order to select him, but also got a player in Heinrich that fits their rebuilding model.

3. The trade for Heinrich does not necessarily mean the end of Gilbert Arenas in a Wizards uniform. I believe Heinrich serves several purpose. He is a productive, experienced, battle-tested, hard-nosed, combo-guard that can slot into the Wizards guard rotation easily. He also is insurance against future potential misbehavior or under-performance by Gilber Arenas. Gilbert is on notice that he needs to be a team player and get with the program and live up to the expectations of the organization and fan base. Gilbert no longer has the same influence over the organization's personnel, or other, decisions. The addition of Heinrich underscores the Wizards firmer and less tolerant position with Gilbert. Lastly, Heinrich can provide veteran leadership and guidance for younger players like John Wall and others.

It seems the league consensus was that Gani Lawal was not worth the #30 or #35. He fell to #46 for a reason.

Posted by: artiesliver

All kinds of players drop for all kinds of reasons, and all kinds of players get taken higher than they should, especially in the second round. Or did you have Lazar Hayward and Bjelica going at the end of the first / top of the second in your mock?

Awesome. Were it not for the curse of Lez Bullez, I'd be more optimistic than in many years. Parlaying a second round pick from last year and the 30th and 35th this year into Hinrich, and the 17th, 23d and 56th this year was unbelievable. Now if they can offload Arenas for some turkey (think Curry, as suggested by Wilbon) with an expiring contract, they could be building a base for a strong team in the near future.

"I'm just not sure how I feel about giving up a future FIRST ROUND pick for the 17th and Hinrich."

OK, I'm confused. I thought the whole point was for Chicago to unload cash, not take on more. Second round picks do not ordinarily entail guaranteed contracts, so that's why they wanted the second rounder.

Who should the Wiz have drafted at #17 and #23? Put it out there and we'll let history be the judge.

Posted by: artiesliver | June 25, 2010 12:33 PM | Report abuse

Seraphin has the potential to be a great pick if developed properly. My concern isn't with acquiring the 17th pick but is with absorbing a 2-year $17 million contract on Hinrih??? It's even more puzzling considering OKC (who has one of the best GM's) absorbed only 1 year and $2 millions on Cook's contract from Miami.
As for the other pick, I didn't notice any team particularly enamored with a 6'7 PF in Booker that they were willing to grasp him before the 30th pick or even the 35th?

I'm just of sick of euro projects intended to produce sometime in the future. To me those are wishful thinking picks, and kind of a CYA move because you can claim to be doing due diligence overseas but such a delayed return is expected you don't get taken to the mat over the pick so long as the team is competitive.

So I want this hulking Guyanese in here knocking Mcgee around sooner rather than later!

I'm sorry! get rid of EG and bring in Kevin Pritchard who portland fierd last night during the draft. his ability to evaluate talent of player's not highly rated is seconed to nunn!. he bought back a winning team to portland. had they been healthy they may have knocked off lal in the playoff's. they have the best winning percentage against lal of any team Phil Jackson even said when they play portland he circles a lost on that game when they play portland.

"...I didn't notice any team particularly enamored with a 6'7 PF in Booker that they were willing to grasp him before the 30th pick or even the 35th?
Posted by: Utilityman1"

Well, you wouldn't, would you? With a late first/early second round pick from a second tier basketball program, I mean. They just don't create a lot of buzz. Certainly if the Wiz management were interested in Booker, they'd go out of their way to convince other teams they wanted somebody else. Apparently Grunfeld was persuaded that Booker wouldn't last to pick 30, so he jumped. As to who might have drafted him, I have no idea.

With Hinrich, there were five or so other teams in the discussion (Google the trade).

I'm just of sick of euro projects intended to produce sometime in the future. To me those are wishful thinking picks, and kind of a CYA move because you can claim to be doing due diligence overseas but such a delayed return is expected you don't get taken to the mat over the pick so long as the team is competitive.

Posted by: divi3

Yes, we should stick to American-born projects like AB (4 years waiting on a return that hopefully now we'll get) and McGee (2 years and counting).

It sounds to me more like Euro-bias. It is the French, so generally I would be with you. But since the calling cards of this particular kid are different than usual, i.e. he's an athletic banger as opposed to a skilled softie, I'm willing to give him the benefit of the doubt.

When OKC makes a trade like that with somebody within their division, get back to me. I don't see any good reason why a) the Wizards should help a division rival get Bosh, James, or Stoudemire and b) the Heat should help a division rival acquire talent in the draft. It really may have come down to those two points.

On Booker, according to the Examiner link above, 'Sota drafted Booker for themselves at #23. Grunfeld then arranged a trade for Booker. So for what it's worth, another team thought Booker was worthy of his draft status and perhaps others were waiting to scoop him up as well prior to #30.

get rid of EG and bring in Kevin Pritchard who portland fierd last night during the draft. his ability to evaluate talent of player's not highly rated is seconed to nunn!.
Posted by: dakel76

Spelling aside, I might actually be with you on this one. I haven't looked at this in a bit, so my timeline and personnel people might be off, but I like the way Portland and Seattle / OKC have acquired talent creatively through the draft. I believe that's mainly Pritchard and Presti respectively (I could be wrong about that). If the draft is the way we want to go, I would feel better with someone like Pritchard at the helm, whose drafts I generally like, than EG, whose drafts generally baffle me a bit.

Yes, we should stick to American-born projects like AB (4 years waiting on a return that hopefully now we'll get) and McGee (2 years and counting).

It sounds to me more like Euro-bias. It is the French, so generally I would be with you. But since the calling cards of this particular kid are different than usual, i.e. he's an athletic banger as opposed to a skilled softie, I'm willing to give him the benefit of the doubt.

Posted by: ts35 | June 25, 2010 1:01 PM

But AB has been playing the whole time. Scoring points in the nba and contributing to wins (and losses of course). For me that is a huge difference both in the worth of the pick, and their development. With Seraphin you have a guy so raw some say he cant come over for 1-2 seasons, but at that point he's 22 having never faced serious competition. That just doesnt make sense to me and is why I think he should come now and get in on the ground floor of the rebuild.

And for the record, Seraphin is 6'9" in shoes, so comparisons to Nene should probably halt. Think Ben Wallace.

Oh and I definitely have a bias against western euro players, no doubt about it.

"Those wondering how Wall/Hinrich/Arenas fit, don't. Arenas will be elsewhere by Oct. Hinrich was great supporting Derrick Rose, will be here, too. There have been all sorts of supposedly unmovable contracts -- all of which have been moved. There's no such thing [as an unmovable contract]. And just for clarification: that's opinion on Arenas being moved. I know there are interested teams, that's all. Will say more when able."

When OKC makes a trade like that with somebody within their division, get back to me. I don't see any good reason why a) the Wizards should help a division rival get Bosh, James, or Stoudemire and b) the Heat should help a division rival acquire talent in the draft. It really may have come down to those two points.

On Booker, according to the Examiner link above, 'Sota drafted Booker for themselves at #23. Grunfeld then arranged a trade for Booker. So for what it's worth, another team thought Booker was worthy of his draft status and perhaps others were waiting to scoop him up as well prior to #30.

Posted by: artiesliver | June 25, 2010 1:04 PM | Report abuse

What is all this talks about the same division? Winning the division doesn't get you to the finals to compete for a championship, winning the conference does and the Bulls are in the same conference as the Wiz.
Oh, yeah, now with 6'7 Booker, our rebuilding is complete. We couldn't dare or risk missing out on him and we absolutely had to trade down to get him!
How long before EG sympathizers start talking about hindsight?

My concern isn't with acquiring the 17th pick but is with absorbing a 2-year $17 million contract on Hinrih??? It's even more puzzling considering OKC (who has one of the best GM's) absorbed only 1 year and $2 millions on Cook's contract from Miami.

Miami almost certainly preferred to deal with OKC because they're not in Miami's division and because they got a slightly higher second-round pick (#32) from OKC than they could have gotten from Washington (#35). Grunfeld preferred Hinrich as Gilbert-insurance and as a mentor for Wall. Not puzzling at all.

And I'm not bent out of shape about the cap room used, because Uncle Teddy's strategy appears to be to build the team's talent base through the draft, and then supplement that as needed through free agency to go over the top. So, it's unlikely that we were going to go after any big-ticket free agents during the next two years anyway.

Did any of you guys hear about us getting Josh Childress, and how he's already signed by us? We just have to wait till July 8th, and he's as good as ours. Or am I the ONLY PERSON that has heard about him coming here?

This is shaping up to be a VERY athletic and fast team. I don't necessarilly (please excuse my spelling misstakes for those of you that are handing out grades on grammer and spelling on this blog)like Ernie or understand his mind set "MOST OF THE TIME"....but if we get JC, I'll feal a little better about the direction heez trying to take this squad!

Did Ernie Grunfeld sabotage the team on his way out? Seriously, the 5 or 6th pick we gave up last year for Foye and Miller is all but gone to waste as miller will not be back and Foye is going to be out now that Hinrich is not being shipped to another team. So last years draft we passed up Harden and possibly Blair for absolutely nothing.

Don't know what to say, the Hinrich trade makes no sense. what does he give you even if Arenas is shipped? Defense? do we not recall Arenas lighting him up a few years ago when healthy? don't we remember him missing big shots trying to play like Ben Gordon who was crushing us?

Booker seems too short to be the player he was in college. I'll try to be objective towards him. The Euro experiment was my biggest fear. Absolutely no more of this wild goose chase let him sit in Euro and hope he develops in 3-years. a waste of the pick. the trades for him and Booker, there were comparable people available without the trade.

I'm not concerned with the Wizards making moves in spite of another team. Like trading Jamison to Cleveland. So what....you wanted 1st round picks...we got 1, 17 and 23.

Hinrich is a player they want. They're paying him and he's then a tradable asset with a $9 million dollar expiring contract. You people act like in 2 years we're gonna be in the Finals and Hinrich's salary is stopping that.

Oh God, these expert blogger/GM's kill me. They always know more than the guys who actually get paid to do this, and like weathermen bloggers have the luxury of being wrong all the time and still acting as if they know more than anyone else about what to do next. If only you guys were as smart as you think you are you would actually be working in the NBA and not on a blog.

The two positions we need help the most: a starting caliber SF and a backup C.

I am not sure Thornton can fill the bill as a starting 3; in fact, I am not sure 3 is his nature position. As for N'Diaye, I am not sure if he can come in and contributes right away. The way McGee is picking up fouls, a backup C is expecting to play significant minutes.

OTOH, we have 3 starting caliber small guards, I don’t know how is Wiz going to play them. If we use 3 guards rotation on PG and SG, then other team's big guard may have a field day, since he is always going against someone who is smaller.

I have to think the roster is incomplete, there has to be a trade or FA signing in the off-season.

But AB has been playing the whole time. Scoring points in the nba and contributing to wins (and losses of course). For me that is a huge difference both in the worth of the pick, and their development.

With Seraphin you have a guy so raw some say he cant come over for 1-2 seasons, but at that point he's 22 having never faced serious competition. That just doesnt make sense to me and is why I think he should come now and get in on the ground floor of the rebuild.

"Some say"? First, you have to be careful with figuring out who is saying what, and their actual qualifications for saying it. Second, he's been steadily improving in the league he's in, which by most accounts (granted, same problem as with 'some say') is comparable to mid-major basketball. Certainly as good as the WAC that we plucked JaVale from.

Plus, I think you throw out some of the usual age factors with this kid, because he's newer to basketball. He's already physically what we would want in a player, and skills don't stop developing magically when you turn 22. Yes, it would be nice if he came over this year, but I don't think it's going to hurt him or the franchise long term if he stays in France another year.

And for the record, Seraphin is 6'9" in shoes, so comparisons to Nene should probably halt. Think Ben Wallace.

Nene is 6'10" in shoes. C'mon Really? And if you're saying we're getting the next Ben Wallace is that really a complaint?

Oh and I definitely have a bias against western euro players, no doubt about it.

""What is all this talks about the same division? Winning the division doesn't get you to the finals to compete for a championship, winning the conference does and the Bulls are in the same conference as the Wiz.""

For that matter, what's all this talk from you about merely winning the conference? You WIN the Finals against a team stocked with talent or you don't, right? Therefore, extending your implausably bizarre logic, you shouldn't trade with anyone in the whole league because at some point they may stand between you and a title.

""Oh, yeah, now with 6'7 Booker, our rebuilding is complete. We couldn't dare or risk missing out on him and we absolutely had to trade down to get him!
How long before EG sympathizers start talking about hindsight?""

Do you find it amusing to develop a false premise then argue against it?? No one even so much as hinted at the argument you just put forth. If these moves don't help ultimately move the team toward brighter days, one Mr. Ernie Grunfeld will be out on his a s s and rightfully so.

"And for the record, Seraphin is 6'9" in shoes, so comparisons to Nene should probably halt. Think Ben Wallace.Posted by: divi3"

Based on his original measurements in 2002, Nene is probably about 6'10.25 in shoes, or about the same as Cole Aldrich or Derrick Favors. He has a wingspan of 7'4.5" and standing reach of 9'1". He was the seventh pick and immediately traded by NY to Denver.

Seraphin's wingspan is supposedly 7'3" with a reach of 9'1".

So give the edge to Nene, but not by a lot. Ben Wallace is quite a bit shorter than either. I could see Seraphin playing center against Nene but not against Yao.

Wow....these comments make me chuckle a bit.
I have confidence in EG. We won with AJ, butler, haywood and the lot when Eddie Jordan was the coach.
Then....we changed coaches people! EG now has to get the types of players that Saunders wants...not any of (you) want. LOL

After it was determined (in Dec) that we were 'stale', we then had to gut the team TO GET THE TYPES OF PLAYERS SAUNDERS WANTS! All this yammering about EG this and that isn't really fair. He's not making these picks alone. I'm sure he's making them after consultation with the coach (something that has been lost on the Redskins for the last few years).
So, at the end of the day, I see
we ended up with:
1st pick (Wall)
17th pick (Seraphin)
23rd pick (Booker, who they wanted badly)
56th pick N'Diaye
Kirk Hinrich (in case they can't unload Arenas, which they're not sure they can or want to yet)
PLUS $3 Million bucks from the Bulls which can be used to buy out contracts of players they don't want.

That doesn't sound too terrible to me. Of course we need to see how the players can actually play (the PRO game). Ya'll need to let this play out before sounding the alarms...in JUNE!

I have to say I liked what the Bullets did. (I hope Ted's 1st order of business is to change the name and the colors!)
Let's face it, the draft is not what it used to be. It's not like the NFL draft where you know who the real studs are at the top, it's more of a crap shoot because no one stays in school for 4 years anymore. It's all young kids who may have dominated in college, but lack that next level ability. Wall was by far and away the best player in college. Washington gave up zippy and got a veteran guard and some much needed inside help. We'll see if these young guys pan out, it'll be fun to watch!

"The Bulls have been trying to move Hinrich for 2yrs now, despite him being a fan favorite and supposed savvy pro. "

But they weren't trying to move him because he sucked. They were trying to move him to open up cap space for the big FA bonanza and, with the addition of Rose, he became expendable. Odds are, if they could have found a taker for Deng, they would have preferred to move him.

One guy's shoulders might be broader than the other one's shoulders. Contributes to 'span but not necessarily reach.

Posted by: artiesliver | June 25, 2010 2:00 PM

ah, that makes sense.

The other reason I'm saying Wallace rather than Nene is that Hilario is an adept offensive player (14pts/58%FG/70%FT) in way that Seraphin may never be. Which is fine with the 17th pick and also why he was probably chosen as C rather than a PF.

The other reason I'm saying Wallace rather than Nene is that Hilario is an adept offensive player (14pts/58%FG/70%FT) in way that Seraphin may never be. Which is fine with the 17th pick and also why he was probably chosen as C rather than a PF.

Posted by: divi3

I would actually go more towards someone like Perkins who has similar height and heft, before I would go to Wallace.

"He also is insurance against future potential misbehavior or under-performance by Gilber Arenas. Gilbert is on notice that he needs to be a team player and get with the program and live up to the expectations of the organization and fan base."

This is a very good point. If Nick Young and Quentin Ross were the only backup guards on the roster, then maybe Arenas thinks he's got more rope because if he steps out of line, who's Flip gonna turn to? Those scrubs? Now there's a guy behind him who's a proven quality starter and performer who the coach will have confidence in. It puts Arenas in a position where if he wants to keep his spot he's going to have to earn it, because if he falters there's someone the org. is comfortable with taking his place.

The other reason I'm saying Wallace rather than Nene is that Hilario is an adept offensive player (14pts/58%FG/70%FT) in way that Seraphin may never be. Which is fine with the 17th pick and also why he was probably chosen as C rather than a PF.

Posted by: divi3

In Nene's first three years in the league (the formative years), he averaged about 10.6 ppg and 28.2 mpg. About a point every 2.6 minutes. Seraphin this past season averaged 6 ppg and 15 mpg. About a point every 2.5 minutes (yes, it was the stinkin' French league). It might be too early to say Seraphin won't develop an offensive game given minutes and experience.

"In Nene's first three years in the league (the formative years), he averaged about 10.6 ppg and 28.2 mpg. About a point every 2.6 minutes. Seraphin this past season averaged 6 ppg and 15 mpg. About a point every 2.5 minutes (yes, it was the stinkin' French league). It might be too early to say Seraphin won't develop an offensive game given minutes and experience.

Posted by: artiesliver

This is where judging a player solely on stats can be very dicey. Given that he was a limited minutes role player, those 6 ppg may have all been of the hustle/garbage variety (which is what your most likely to get from a guy playing 15 mpg; because if he could proved more, he'd probably get more minutes). Which is fine, per se, but it doesn't automatically imply any real offensive ability or even potential. Nene, by contrast, actually has (and always has had) low post scoring skills. He can create offense. Simply looking at Seraphin's stats isn't enough to tell us whether he can or ever will do the same.

In Nene's first three years in the league (the formative years), he averaged about 10.6 ppg and 28.2 mpg. About a point every 2.6 minutes. Seraphin this past season averaged 6 ppg and 15 mpg. About a point every 2.5 minutes (yes, it was the stinkin' French league). It might be too early to say Seraphin won't develop an offensive game given minutes and experience.

Posted by: artiesliver | June 25, 2010 2:32 PM

I'm just going by the various scouting reports, one of which breaks down Seraphin's stats even further and exposes that he only shoots 60% from point blank range. Also says he'll probably never have any sort of jumper.

But who knows, lot can happen for a guy that works at it everyday. I just don't think they drafted him assuming the offense would develop to the point he was a legit PF.

Wow, everyone is so emotional about the latest Wiz moves, and that's understandable. We're all passionate about our team, excited about our future with JW and Ted in place now. However, let's get a little perspective here on what happened last night, the fact that more moves (possibly many more) are possible, and what we might look like next season if all of the trades and strong rumors become reality:

1) EG/Ted/team wanted to get tougher and stronger as we rebuild. That is valid. How many of us have been frustrated by the Wiz' softness and defensive deficiencies? That wretched image of LeBron driving the baseline in the playoffs against us a few years ago still haunts me. Can Booker or Seraphin guard LeBron and secure the interior of our defense? Don't know, but if you're the GM, you gotta try, and I am assuming EG and his staff watched these guys much more than I did, After all, that's their job!
2) Everybody seems to hate the Hinrich trade. Everyone loves the BOYD strategy and thinks we could have utilized it more effectively. I agree. However, let's really look at the trade. It is reported that we will receive Hinrich, the 17th pick (Seraphin), and $3 million for a future 2nd rounder. Guys what did we give up? $9 mill of cap space this year and $8 mill next year, but we get $3 mill back this year, which I believe could be used on some FAs, possibly buy another player from last night, use it in a trade this summer, etc. We wanted Pondexter and could probably get him for that. Just one idea. To summarize, we get a servicable PG (backup and mentor Wall and good insurance in case the GA situation does not work well or we trade GA), a good young prospect (no one knows what we'll get but 1st rd talent), and cash for a future 2nd rounder that I will guess has some kind of lottery protection clause. Why is that so bad? We weren't getting any of the top tier FAs this summer anyway!
3)Trade for Booker and Ndiaye with MN. Why is this so bad? Booker had great career stats in the ACC. Will he be a star, probably not. Will he provide toughness off the bench, yes I believe he will, and we really need that. I thought I read that he was one of the strongest prospects in Chicago. Was there anyone else available there who would have been a star for us? Probably not. Varnado was there, but we got a pretty good, skinny shotblocker at 56 with Ndiaye.
4) Heard some folks complaining about not getting a SF, which we definitely need, because Al Thornton cannot start at the 3 on a good team. Well, if you believe the rumors, we are close to signing Josh Childress, and if Atlanta matches, then we have the option on Josh Howard. With Childress/Howard and Thornton at the 3, I feel all right about that. That's probably why Ernie did not draft a 3. We need toughness. It is true that pretty good 3s are readily available.

Sign Singleton for veteran leadership, Ross exercised his option, and Ndiaye as a 3rd backup 5.

Then let's either sign a veteran 5 FA that's more physical than who we have inside, invite those kinds of players to camp this summer, or make a trade for a 5. Lots of options.

Granted this scenario will not produce a champion next year, but it could be much worse, considering where we have been. Here's some advantages of this lineup:

1) Lots of flexibility with the guards, stress defense, offense, 3 players can run the team, etc.
2) Developing our number one asset, John Wall. With Sam Cassell and Hinrich (just look at Rose in Chicago), I think he will develop nicely. We already know he has all the talent!
3) Better defense, rebounding, and toughness - we should see. I could see Wall, Hinrich, Howard or Childress, Booker, and Serraphin being a stingy unit.
4) Some veteran leadership combined with some excellent prospects to continue to develop, can't have all rookies!
5) Hinrich is good insurance in case we trade GA or it is not working with him at the SG

It seems to me like EG, Flip, and Ted achieved most of their objectives based on their evaluations. If their evaluations are wrong, this whole scenario could be terrible (Hinrich is old and slow, Arenas isn't the same, Childress/Howard are not that good, and the young ones like McGee and Serraphin never develop). But if they're right.. They seem to be trying to construct a team similar to Detroit's from a few year's ago with an excellent PG (Wall/Billups), a strong defensive presence inside (Serraphin/B Wallace), a versatile 4 who can score (Blatche/R Wallace), and a defensive-minded 3 who can score (Childress or Howard/Prince). And if Gilbert is right, he is much better offensively than Rip but worse defensively. But is Rip a great individual defender or was he in a great system? Not a bad blueprint if that's what they are trying to do.

So, let's all be patient, the sky is not falling, and this has been the first big day in a turnaround for our team that could result in building a team that will consistently contend.

"The other reason I'm saying Wallace rather than Nene is that Hilario is an adept offensive player (14pts/58%FG/70%FT) in way that Seraphin may never be. Which is fine with the 17th pick and also why he was probably chosen as C rather than a PF."

"I'm just going by the various scouting reports, one of which breaks down Seraphin's stats even further and exposes that he only shoots 60% from point blank range. Also says he'll probably never have any sort of jumper."

HA! I love it. How many times have I made this exact same argument vis-a-vis McGee, only to have you try and jump through flaming hoops to try and make a case that McGee's occasional garbage scoring numbers, in and of themselves, are indicative of his offensive potential and that it didn't matter how the ball went through the hoop?

kal, you're so pathetic. Mcgee actually shows touch on his jumpers and FTs, something by all accounts I'm reading Seraphin doesnt do (obviously we havent seen him play yet). That makes for apples and oranges.

Not another blogger GM who only knows how to get rid of people. Maybe your boss should get rid of you.

Posted by: ged038

Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you

Hey....thanks again, I thought it just was me.
It's intellectually lazy to just go "get rid of them, cut em'! and so forth...it takes no real thought.

That said, I'm in love with the idea of Hinrich being on this team. I have loved his game for years and believe that the Bulls chose the wrong guard to develop in the overrated Ben Gordon when both were younger. So that's a good move to me. We do need a guard that will close out on shooters, something our current crew doesn't have an appetite for. He can run a team properly, isn't particularly injury prone. To me, the Bulls are fools.

Hey Kalo_rama

...then maybe Arenas thinks he's got more rope because if he steps out of line, who's Flip gonna turn to?

I couldn't agree more, in fact, this has been going on for too long with GA. He's thought of himself as invaluable for too long. It's what happens when guys start being hyped as the "Franchise player". So Heinrich helps. Maybe EG isn't done yet with the moves.

Simply looking at Seraphin's stats isn't enough to tell us whether he can or ever will do the same.

Posted by: kalo_rama

Agreed, stats alone are not enough to predict how he develops moving forward. Since he is fairly new to the game, it's possible that he's only scratched the surface of his offensive potential and improves to some degree. Conversely, he may never get appreciably better on offense. Time will tell on that, er, score.

One of the things that bothers me about the Wizards trading the #30 and #35 to take Booker at #23 is that Ernie admitted that they were looking at two guys that were expected to be there at #30 and #35 (Booker was obviously one of them), but they traded up because they started to fear that both would be gone before #30.

It just sounds too much like they panicked. Especially when you think about all the roster space that they have and how much better #35 sounds than #56.

My opinion is that in a deep draft (for any sport) you have to value quantity over perceived quality. Just look at teams like the Ravens and the Patriots, they gamble all the time that the guys they want will still be available later when they think the depth of a draft will let someone else drop to them if their guy is taken. I have a tough time believing that if someone else liked Booker enough to draft him in the first it would not have left an unexpectedly high-rated alternative on the board.

one more thing, sportzwiz.
quantity gets you little. would you assume that a team that has 15 players on its roster will be better than a team that only has 12 on its roster? the correct answer (i hope) is no. i'd rather see ernie or any gm draft players he has strong feelings about instead of using a shot-gun approach and volume drafting.

Now, can some-1 please tell me if they have heard anything "POSITIVE" about Josh Childress coming to the WizKidz? If we get JC....this is shaping up to be a defensive (minus Arenas...although I love him..NO HOMO, fast break...get out and go...team!

We don't need our draft picks to score...we have enough of that. We just need them to be strong enough to hit the boards and block shots..then give it to Wall and GOOOOOOO!

This will be an Up-Tempo team from now on, not a half court team. WE NEED GUYS THAT CAN FLY WITH ENERGY! I think we got that in last night's draft.

Some-1 earlier said..."We can't draft starters ALL THE TIME...some-1(s) have to come off the bench"!

Now, can some-1 please tell me if they have heard anything "POSITIVE" about Josh Childress coming to the WizKidz?
Posted by: DAGEEZ

We were debating it yesterday when the rumor came out. I think the only thing that is definite with this is that Atlanta has offered Childress his restricted FA tender, meaning they have the chance to match any offer made to him.

As for the Wiz, I have still only seen one report saying that the Wiz will offer him a contract (which has been re-reported by other outlets). No specific word on the size of the contract or if Atlanta will match.

I think it's an ok move depending on the size and length of the contract.

Now, please fill me in on something here....
The Hawks are trying to cut cost to be able to re-sign JJ..right? How does the Josh Childress signing effect them (if at all) and can The Wiz offer him more money?

I KNOW The Hawks can match any offer, but when is enough.....- ...enough for them to throw their hands up and say..."TAKE EM"!

I know Ernie is in love with JC and has been since college. Ernie's son and Josh are like BF's! JC would be a good addition for us, although I KNOW heez not gonna set the world on fire, but he has improved his game over seas! He and the "OTHER" Josh (Howard) can fight over the #3 spot. JC is more athletic though.

Booker is an aggressive 6-7 senior defender from Clemson who will not only mix things up inside but also challenge the alarmingly recalcitrant Andray Blatche at practice each day

When I got around to reading Ian Thompson's analysis, the reason for drafting Booker over some of the guys that were prefered by myself and others became perfectly clear.

If you read this, watch the video of Flip applauding Booker for finishing out his workout full speed while hitting his shots, and listen to the quotes that Ernie had about drafting Booker, everything makes more sense. I still like other guys more than him, but I think this was about a culture change not just on the court production.

Let's take a look at who they might have had instead of Seraphin. According to Ernie, with Wall and Hinrich in the fold and Gilbert still on the roster, they were looking mainly for 'toughness', which we can interpret as a physical big man. Craig Brackins, Daniel Orton, Dexter Pittman, Solomon Alabi, Jerome Jordan, Hassan Whiteside -- should they have taken any of those players Gani Lawal over Kevin Seraphin?

The problem with Seraphin is that none of us have seen him play, and even if we had, we'd no doubt disagree. Is he a pig in a poke? You can only answer that with comparables -- would you rather have had Orton, the big softy from Kentucky? Brackins? Fat Dexter? There's plenty to criticize in that group, and I'm sure we would have.

To jump back in and address some questions, there are several sources reporting the Childress signing, NOT A DONE DEAL BY ANY MEANS. But, with this much smoke, there probably is..well, you know how that saying goes. I have one question on that, and I should know it. If the Wiz make an offer to Childress, how long do the Hawks have to match? The reason I ask is that it seems strange that the Wiz are working on this while involved with the draft and trades. Maybe, EG thinks if he can get an offer on the table to JC, the Hawks may be tied up waiting on Johnson and may not be willing to give JC $5-8 mill a season? If they only have 15 or 30 days to respond, that might explain why that is coming down now.

On the point of Booker, everyone needs to get off of this, "we could have had him at 30, why trade up?" Everything that I have read seems to say that MN had already drafted him, thus, DAAA, he went earlier than 30.., and since Pondexter went at 26, if EG and Ted conveted those two, then they would have missed out on both if they had not made this trade or gotten involved with NO or OKC to get Pondexter. The MN deal was probably easier to get. Whether you agree or disagree that Booker is that good, if you understand how highly EG regarded Booker and Pondexter, that is why he made the trade that he could. That is not that hard to understand.

I've been born and raised both a Wizards and Clemson fan, so I've watched almost all of each team's games in the past 4 years. Booker is EXACTLY what this team needs. He's one of the toughest, strongest, most athletic players that was available in the draft. Though I'm not ecstatic that we gave up two solid picks for him, I am ecstatic that he will be playing in a Wiz uni next year. He will most certainly push Dray to his limits for the next few years in practice. I can't say whether that will help or hurt Dray in terms of frustrating him or motivating him, but he'll certainly be pushed. Booker has a very similar game to Patrick Patterson who was, as you all know, one of the top players in the country this past year. A few of you have talked about how "we shouldnt have traded for a player who couldnt even dominate his division in college basketball"; the reason why Booker didn't dominate the ACC this past year was because he played out of position. Oliver Prunell (Clemson head coach) stuck him on the perimeter for the majority of his games because both Booker and Prunell knew that to enhance his stock for the NBA draft, he'd have to grow accustomed to playing outside of the paint like he would likely have to in the NBA. Booker still managed to get 15/10 playing as a more perimeter-grounded forward, but his FG%, rebounding and shot blocking numbers dropped. He'll be limited to playing the majority of his minutes at the power forward position in the league. That's really a blessing in disguise, though, because his biggest strengths in shot blocking and rebounding will be best utilized as a power forward; those stand as two of the team's biggest needs.

So tell me, do you set those hoops on fire before you jump through them?

"Touch"? Oh my God.

He shoots in the mid-60 percent range on FTs. Since when is that "touch"? That's bad. Not as bad as some big men, but if the best you can say about a guy is that he's not the worst, that's not saying much. Please.

He shoots 50% from the field. That's not bad for a big man whose repertoire includes a regular helping of midrange jumpers and hooks. But for a guy who takes the vast majority of his shots within 4 feet of the rim--and most of those dunks-- it's pretty anemic. It's basically a sign that he misses pretty much any shot where the ball has to leave his hand in order to make contact the rim. "Touch"?

The wiz stole from the bulls. They traded a 2nd rounder for a first rounder. Usually you'd think that the team giving up the 2nd rounder would have to add a player to make the deal fair, but it was the team with the first rounder adding another player in the deal! And Hinrich's contract expires in two years. Way to take advantage of desperate free agent crazy teams. Go Wiz!

To jump back in and address some questions, there are several sources reporting the Childress signing, NOT A DONE DEAL BY ANY MEANS. But, with this much smoke, there probably is..well, you know how that saying goes. I have one question on that, and I should know it. If the Wiz make an offer to Childress, how long do the Hawks have to match? The reason I ask is that it seems strange that the Wiz are working on this while involved with the draft and trades. Maybe, EG thinks if he can get an offer on the table to JC, the Hawks may be tied up waiting on Johnson and may not be willing to give JC $5-8 mill a season? If they only have 15 or 30 days to respond, that might explain why that is coming down now.
RON
___________________________________________

Thanx for the insight RON!

I was actually thinking along the same lines. I was hoping the Wiz could sneak in there and get him while The Hawks are waiting on JJ to make up his mind. Something tells me come July 8th, the chips will fall in to place a lot faster than we think. Once "QUEEN" James decides where heez going, then ALL THE DOMINOS will fall FAST!

I don't think the Wiz are actively working on the Childress thing. Because I don't think they can until July 1, correct? Even though he's not in the NBA, he's still the Hawks property, especially now that they've offered him his tender. So I don't think the Wiz could have offered him anything because that would be tampering. I'm definitely speculating here, but I think the FA rules still apply to him.

So my guess is that nothing definite will happen with this until July 1 when the Wiz are officially allowed to talk to him.

No actually, I am not new to the blog. I follow it, but I don't post that often, or if a discussion gets out of hand, snipey, or mean-spirited, I frankly don't bother participating. However, this is a good discussion, and I am very interested.

What I feel the folks here don't always think about is: 1) these are draft picks, and there is no guarantee with any of them (hate to say it but no guarantee with JW), one person stated accurately that, "most people liked the Kwame pick when we made it." How'd that work out? and 2)I may not agree with a person's decision on something, but I know that relatively intelligent or competent people don't make totally irrational decisions. I believe that EG knows basketball and is a pretty good evaluator of talent. That is the tough part of his job. So, if I understand the psychology and beliefs that went into his decisions, it is pretty easy to figure out why he made a decision. As I stated earlier, it does not mean that I drink the kool aid and worship at the altar of EG, but at least, I believe he is at a min, a competent GM and a really good one at times. So, there is logic and forethought involved in his moves, and more often than not, in hindsight, most of his moves are pretty good.

Damn....Scottie Reynolds didn't even get picked. What do you guys (and gals) think the problem with his game is/was?

I don't know, when I saw him play, he looked like a good prospect. I had not heard how he did a the pre-draft camps, but I thought someone would take a chance on him.
I hope we invite him to camp, he'll have a real edge on him about how it went down.

one more thing, sportzwiz.quantity gets you little. would you assume that a team that has 15 players on its roster will be better than a team that only has 12 on its roster? the correct answer (i hope) is no.Posted by: omgwthrotfl | June 25, 2010 3:28 PM

Way to completely over-symplify my point. My point was that in a draft where separating players 15-40 is like splitting hairs, you'd rather have two attempts to hit on a player rated at the SAME level than just one attempt.

I'd rather see ernie or any gm draft players he has strong feelings about instead of using a shot-gun approach and volume drafting.

carry on.

Posted by: omgwthrotfl | June 25, 2010 3:28 PM

This takes me back to my earlier statement. If for example, the Wiz had a group of players rated as 3-star players, but they had just a slight preference for 2-3 of them, they could be happy with any of the players even if they didn't get exactly who they hoped for.

However, if Ernie had a high enough opinion of these guys to rate them up another tier that changes things. If he considered Booker a full step better than other guys available, fair enough. But, if he was "hand-picked" that means Booker should be a guy who steps right in.

Kal, I actually agree with divi that McGee has touch. He has poor mechanics and footwork at the moment which affect his back-to-the-basket shots, but when I watch his jumpers and even his FTs he seems to have decent touch, despite the results.

Or maybe it's just too many years watching Haywood, who was so bad, I think he had anti-touch.

I liked Act 1 and I'm looking forward to Acts 2 and 3 as the Leonsis brain-trust (yeah, HE owns Ernie and Flip now) puts together a team for next season. I'd like to see a whole phalanx of players who describe their playing style by hitting their fists into their hands. Good defense, rebounding, players who run the floor and pass the ball. Someone who fits into that general team theme is Josh Howard, if they can make a deal that works for both.

Kal, I actually agree with divi that McGee has touch. He has poor mechanics and footwork at the moment which affect his back-to-the-basket shots, but when I watch his jumpers and even his FTs he seems to have decent touch, despite the results.

Or maybe it's just too many years watching Haywood, who was so bad, I think he had anti-touch.

Posted by: ts35 | June 25, 2010 5:22 PM

If a guy has an ugly/technically imperfect looking shot but still hits a high percentage (a la Reggie Miller or Bird) then I can see saying he has touch.

But, if you're arguing that a guy who has (by your own admission) poor mechanics and shoots fairly low percentages has "touch," then you're using a definition of the word unlike any I've ever seen related to basketball.

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